A trial of mental and pedagogical tests in a civil service examination for policemen and firemen

Abstract

Tests the value of intelligence tests in the selection of applicants for certain kinds of positions. 30 American born Ss, age range 21-38 yrs, were tested by the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale, pedagogical tests of special factors and physical tests. The extent of schooling ranged from seventh grade to high school and some were skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled. Results showed that intelligence was important but not the only criterion for competency. Candidates with an IQ lower than 80 were rejected. High correlations were found among mental age, vocabulary, completion, arithmetic reasoning and low among reading, writing, spelling and fundamentals. Salary was highly correlated with general intelligence, and skilled workers were superior to unskilled workers. Age and mental age had no significant correlation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)